Panthers Suffer Heartbreaker in New Orleans
The Panthers lost a close game to the Saints. This time, the Panthers played a better game all around. Unfortunately, they could not do enough to take home the win. This loss put the Buccaneers back in first place in the NFC South. All hope is not lost for a playoff run, but things just got significantly harder.
Bryce Young played an ok game. Only ok, because this was one of the most critical times for your quarterback to step up. Young only had 24 passing attempts with 17 completions. The low number of passing attempts indicates that the coaching staff doesn’t have much confidence in Young. Granted, the Panthers have become a run-first team. The Panthers again struggled to establish the run, with Rico Dowdle rushing for 49 yards on 16 carries. He tied Young for rushing yards, which was an essential part of Young’s game today; he showed off his wheels.
The star of today’s game is Jalen Coker. Coker continues to impress and rise to the occasion. He is a vital part of the passing game and should continue to see heavy usage moving forward. Today, Coker caught all four of his targets for 60 yards and scored the lone touchdown on the day. Tetairoa McMillan had a quiet game with two receptions for 25 yards. Drawing more of the coverage, but he should bounce back before the season ends. Xavier Legette had two receptions for 39 yards, a hopeful showing during a rough season. Coker’s improving play has pushed Legette into the WR3 role, where he has shown some production. He should continue to see action in that role. The Panthers’ receiving room has finally found its receivers for the next year at least. We will see what moves they intend to make in the offseason.
The defense had a good day, stopping the run and keeping the Saints to 81 rushing yards. The best part of the Panthers’ defense today was the pass rush. The Panthers had five sacks on the day, but unfortunately, they couldn’t pull out a win. The Panthers' front seven has been excellent this year, and they will be pivotal in the last games of the year. Chris Olave has been the Panthers' secondary kryptonite this year. Olave had some critical catches to put the Saints in position to tie the game and eventually win the game. He finished the day with six receptions for 85 yards and a touchdown. He was always open in the soft spot of the defense when he was needed most. Finally, Latham Ransom threw the game away, which is awful because he has been solid this year. I don’t fault him for losing the game. Tyler Shough baited him into hitting him mid-slide. Ultimately, we shouldn’t have been in that position to begin with. So yes, Ransom got baited, putting the Saints in position to win, but he shouldn’t shoulder the blame. He’s a rookie and made a rookie mistake.
The Panthers’ road to winning the NFC South has just gotten much harder. They have to win out the rest of the way, but have some stiff competition. They have to play the Buccaneers twice and the Seahawks. The Seahawks are really good, but the Panthers have shown themselves to be world beaters before. The biggest challenge will be beating the Bucs twice. Divisional games are always weird, but beating a team twice might be even harder.
